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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27933115">For my King? Gladly.</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiera540/pseuds/Kiera540'>Kiera540</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Battlefield, Death, Haikyuu - Freeform, Hurt/Comfort, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, King Oikawa Tooru, Knight Iwaizumi Hajime, Knight and King AU, M/M, The Author Regrets Nothing, This HURT the author, iwaoi - Freeform, no beta we die like daichi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 21:41:34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,141</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27933115</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiera540/pseuds/Kiera540</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The King Oikawa Tooru, and his loyal knight, and bodyguard, Iwaizumi Hajime find themselves separated in the middle of battle. Once the dust settles, Oikawa goes to find him. He almost wishes he didn’t.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>For my King? Gladly.</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/HamanoHoney/gifts">HamanoHoney</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is pure IwaOi angst so fair warning! Likes and comments are greatly appreciated as they help me improve. If you see any mistakes, just let me know and I’ll fix them. Enjoy!</p><p>Trigger warnings- Battlefields, fight scenes, and character death.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The sun had begun to set and the dust was finally settling when Oikawa let the tip of his sword drop with a clang onto the dirt below him. He was exhausted, and it had taken hours, but their enemies were finally retreating into the far distance. He wanted more than anything to drop to his knees and take advantage of the well-earned rest, but he was the king, and his image was more important. His men could not see him kneeling on the ground after this gruesome battle, no, they needed to see him standing tall. So that is what he did. He forced his body to stand at its tallest height, and kept his head held high. It hurt, but he saw it as a small price to pay.</p><p>“My King.” Matsukawa said with a small bow behind him. Oikawa quickly swept his eyes over the others body. Aside from a few cuts and bruises, there didn’t seem to be any serious damage.</p><p>“Gather the wounded, and bury the dead. I know we are all tired, but we cannot remain here.” He ordered loud enough for those around him to hear. Groans sounded, but the nodding heads and scraping of metal as they got to their feet told him they knew what he said was true. Their enemies had retreated, but they themselves were scattered over a wide area and far from their own lands. They needed to regroup and gauge their situation before doing anything else.</p><p>Oikawa swept his head around, looking for a certain someone who was never far from his side. Disappointment crept into his mind when he didn’t see him there with his usual scowl. He wiped his eyes before turning in another circle, but again, he was nowhere to be found.</p><p>He stopped moving and tried to recall the last time he had seen the man. <em>Oh yeah,</em> his mind supplied him, <em>we were separated a while ago.</em> He subconsciously reached down to rub at his left knee at the memory. It had been the beginning of an ugly fight when the two of them were separated. Oikawa had taken a hit to his knee and was then shoved away from the fight by his loyal guardian with promises of reuniting soon spilling from his lips. Oikawa had ended up being forced further away than he would have liked, but there wasn’t much either of them could do with a battle like this.</p><p>“Are you alright my King?” Hanamaki asked after he noticed when Oikawa’s hand lingered on his knee.</p><p>“Find Iwaizumi. Last I saw him he was on the other side of the hills due north.” Oikawa said firmly ignoring the question.</p><p>“I’ll get a team at once.” Hanamaki bowed low before he departed, waving a few hand signals at nearby soldiers on his way. Oikawa had taken one step before he was flanked by two guards. Oikawa smirked at Hanamaki’s back, of course he had sent people to be with him before gathering men for his own purpose. Oikawa spun back around and started trudging up the hill in front of him to the open area he knew Matsukawa would be using as a temporary medical and command center. As he walked, his mind drifted back to that moment.</p><hr/><p>Oikawa spun his spear around his body and heard three more of his opponents fall at his feet. He barely had time to look around him before more were charging full speed towards him. This was ridiculous! How many were there?! He didn’t have time to worry about that now, instead he took a deep breath, planted his feet, and engaged the yelling people in front of him.</p><p>Another six enemies later, and Oikawa actually thought this battle might be coming to an end. There was a small lull in the fighting and he had time to look at his surroundings. Off to his right finishing off his own opponents, was his Iwaizumi as strong as ever. To his left, he caught the tell-tale sign of Mattsun and Makki causing chaos and destruction to anyone who dared to stand against them. He would have chuckled at them if the ground didn’t start shaking beneath him. He gave it a strange look and knelt down to place his hand on it. The source of the vibrations seemed to be something on the surface, but from what exactly he couldn’t tell.</p><p>“Oikawa! Behind you!” That voice cut cleanly through his mind and dragged him out of his thoughts. Then again, that was nothing unusual, that voice could get him to do anything. Whipping his head around he gasped at the burly man that stood a couple of steps behind him. He managed to bring his spear up in front of his body to act as a makeshift shield as his opponent swung a club towards his chest. They collided hard, but miraculously his spear held strong in his hands, his body on the other hand, was sent flying backwards from the force of the hit.</p><p>His head rang after he slammed back into the ground. He shook it in an attempt to clear away the fog that was forming in his mind. He glanced towards Iwaizumi, this wasn’t someone he could defeat alone, he would need the other’s help. It seemed that wouldn’t be an option though. Iwaizumi’s temporary lapse in fighting to give him a warning had resulted in him being grabbed by the enemies closest to him. He struggled in their hold, but every time he threw one off of him there seemed to be two more ready to take their fallen comrades place. Before Oikawa could even think of going to help him, his attention was stolen by the large man towering over him.</p><p>Oikawa quickly rolled onto his side to avoid another one of his swings. His first swing might not have caused too much damage, but he had no intention of testing that method for a second time. He sprang to his feet and stared down the man. He didn’t fear his size, everyone had a weakness, and he would find it. Granted, it would be difficult to avoid this mountain of a man long enough for him to find it, but that had never stopped him before. He ducked and rolled to the side to steer clear of a third hit that tore through the air above his head. He was smaller and more maneuverable than the other, and using that to his advantage, he got to his opponents side and stabbed his spear into the gaps of the man’s armor. The mountain yelled out, but otherwise didn’t seem affected by the strike to his side. Oikawa noticed and quickly pulled his spear out to dodge another hit.</p><p>There were several gaps in his opponents armor, but Oikawa figured he would tire himself out long before he could be able to bring him down using that method. He tighten his grip on his spear, it was his greatest weapon. Long, with a golden blade and his kingdom’s famous blue to decorate the handle. It was the perfect length and weight for his fighting style, and right now, the distance it provided him was probably the only thing keeping him alive.</p><p>Finally getting the chance to really look at the man before him, he saw it was the opposing kings personal bodyguard. Oikawa took a second to look around, but unsurprisingly, the king was nowhere to be found. His bodyguard wasn’t exactly the sharpest weapon in the arsenal, so he wouldn’t be surprised if the king ordered him to wreak havoc on the battlefield instead of guarding him. What he lacked in brain power, the man certainly made up for in raw power.</p><p>Oikawa shook his head again when he narrowly jumped away from another swing. If he kept letting his mind wonder like this, he was never going to survive. Their battle had caught the attention of both sides, but it hardly mattered, anytime his men tried to come to his aid, they were stopped by the enemy. The mentioned enemies gave no signs of going to help the kings guardian, he seemed perfectly unstoppable all on his own.</p><p>He took another deep breath to calm his mind and focused on keeping just out of his opponents reach. He let the rest of the battle fade away and intensely watched the man before him, there had to be a weakness, a tell, something! A guy like this was tough, but not invincible. He took another look at his armor, there was no way they could make armor that was big enough to cover his body, and every type of armor had to have openings in them to allow for movement. Aha, there! His armor was more solid on the front, but there were several gaps in the back! They probably assumed no one would live long enough to circle around to his back, and focused in defending his front where the majority of attacks would be.</p><p>Too bad that wasn’t Oikawa’s style.</p><p>He dodged one more hit before sprinting behind him and slashing his spear along his opponents ankle and calf. That caused the giant man to roar and fall down to one knee. Oikawa pushed his luck and swung at the man’s face, effectively tearing the helmet and face shield from him. Knowing he didn’t have much more time before he recovered, Oikawa went for the large gap on the man’s back. A clean hit here would end it.</p><p>Oikawa had pushed his luck too far though. The guardian swung the handle of his club around his body and slammed it into Oikawa’s left knee. Oikawa cried out and found himself lying flat on the dirt again from his opponents strength. He never got the chance to try and stand on his knee before the man towered over him once again. If it worked once Oikawa prayed it would work twice when he raised his spear to use it as a shield once again.</p><p>Luck was not on Oikawa’s side.</p><p>The club made contact with the center of Oikawa’s spear and he felt it shatter between his hands. Pieces of wood sprayed around him and tore lines through his face in their path. Time seemed to stand still. It was almost symbolic. The battle between grace and flow of their king vs the raw strength and power of his opponent to be ended by the breaking of their kings greatest weapon. It was like they could feel the will to fight leave their bodies. They entered this battle knowing their chances of survival were slim, not to mention the chances of victory. If their greatest weapon had fallen, what chance did they have?</p><p>The guardian raised his club to finish Oikawa who was still lying dazed on the ground, when a forced slammed into his side and shoved him several feet away.</p><p>“Get up!” Iwaizumi’s voice roared through the battlefield, “It was just a spear! Fight!” Electricity zapped through the army donned in blue at that moment. Their “greatest weapon” was never a simple weapon. It was the skill with which their warriors fought that made it so powerful. War cries broke out with renewed vigor once that realization hit. Oikawa listened to the strength of his men and used their voices to force his body to stand strong for him. Iwaizumi saw him rise and held out one of his swords. Oikawa thought the one he offered him was fitting.</p><p>Iwaizumi had a set of beautiful dual blades. The one in his right hand was as black as the darkest night with the character for “courage” carved at the base. Its meaning was to show courage even in one’s darkest moments. His left hand held one of pure white, as bright, and as pure as a heavenly light with the character for “honor” engraved at the base. It reminded its wielder to value the most important things in life, and to take pride in their actions.</p><p>Oikawa took the offered white blade with only a slight wobble from his knee. It was enough for Iwaizumi to notice. Of course it was, he could never hide anything from the other man, not that he would ever want to.</p><p>“Go, I’ll handle him.” Iwaizumi spoke softly to him, easily drawing his attention.</p><p>“And leave you here alone? Not happening. We can beat him if we face him together, my love.” Oikawa spoke more confidently than he felt, but he couldn’t help it. With his Iwa-chan by his side, he didn’t fear anything.</p><p>“Who said anything about alone?” Matsukawa’s voice rang out as he pushed through the chaos around them, Hanamaki trailing another step behind him.</p><p>“Go, you’re too banged up to fight him right now.” Iwaizumi reminded him by gesturing towards his left knee. Oikawa grumbled, but the hand on his cheek pulled him out of his mood, “Please.” It wasn’t Iwa’s voice, but his eyes that finally convinced Oikawa that perhaps the shorter man was right.</p><p>“Take him, we’ll follow soon.” Iwaizumi said to Hanamaki when Oikawa gave a small nod. Hanamaki hesitated for a moment, but grabbed Oikawa a moment later at an encouraging nod from Matsukawa.</p><p>With the other two now fading from their site, Iwaizumi and Matsukawa prepared to face the giant who had now recovered and was raising to his feet. The man roared once again and charged directly for them swinging his club around his head like a man possessed. He was at least smart enough to know he was now facing two opponents and was determined to not give them a single opening. The other two were just as determined to change that.</p><p>In reality, it only took about twenty minutes to bring the mammoth to his knees, but to the two of them, it had felt like hours. They were both banged up and panting, but very much alive and holding back chuckles. By now, most of the enemies in this area had been defeated or fled.</p><p>“Go on, I’ll finish here and then catch up.” Iwaizumi said as he massaged his right shoulder that had taken a hit. Matsukawa gave him a skeptical look but seeing Iwaizumi move his arm around without any problems and a quick sweep showing only a few enemies left, he agreed and made his way to help out in the more active spots of the dwindling battle.</p><p>Iwaizumi made quick work of the few that remained, and effectively scared off the rest. After watching them for a moment to ensure they were running away from the battle and not towards another area, he turned to follow the same path Mattsun had gone. A rumble of the earth from behind him made him freeze in his tracks. No way! It was impossible!</p><p>Whipping his head around, he raised his sword too late and felt a heavy object slam into him. Thrown several feet away, and seeing stars, Iwaizumi attempted to stand as he felt more than he heard the thundering footsteps barreling straight at him.</p><hr/><p>“My King!” Oikawa blinked a few times to shake the memories from his head enough to be able to listen to the older man in front of him.</p><p>“What is it?” He asked.</p><p>“Forgive me for noticing, but allow me to look at your knee. You’re limping, Sir.” The medic informed him.</p><p>“No, help the other wounded first.” The king waved a hand at him and turned his body away. There was no way his annoying knee was more important than the soldier who could be bleeding out.</p><p>“As you command.” The medic bowed and went towards the group of men a short distance away.</p><p>“What’s our status?” Oikawa asked as he approached Matsukawa.</p><p>The two spent several minutes going over the reports they were receiving and coming up with a plan. They ordered any uninjured man they could spare to form a perimeter around their makeshift camp in the hope of not being caught off guard should their enemies return.</p><p>“My King.” Hanamaki gasped out as he appeared from thin air. He was panting heavily as if he had run from a long distance away. There was something about his face that Oikawa couldn’t place, but he accredited it to exhaustion and the drain of battle. “We found him! He’s in the same place he was.” Every thought flew out of his head as fear clawed at his heart. Why would Makki be telling him this? Why wouldn’t Iwa-chan just come back with him? Did he capture someone? Was he hurt? Did they find something else? Did they find the enemy king? He didn’t know, and frankly he didn’t care. He knew where he was, so ignoring the pain in his knee, he sprinted with all his heart towards the last place he saw his beloved Iwaizumi.</p><hr/><p>Oikawa was about five steps away when he froze in his tracks. There, in the middle of the field, laid Iwaizumi with his head resting in the lap Oikawa recognized as one of his medics. The chest piece of his armor had been removed and he could see the stark white of bandages clearly against his darker skin. Except, they weren’t stark white, at least not anymore. Puddles of red were sinking through the white bandages and were staining them red. The girl was looking at him with sad eyes and tear stains down her cheeks and Oikawa felt his heart rip in two. One of the other soldiers noticed his presence and smacked the man closest to him. The second man broke off to quietly inform the remaining people while the first approached his king. He didn’t know what to say. What could he possibly say in this situation? He did all he knew to do, he held out his hand to help guide his king to his beloved. It wasn’t exactly public information that the king and his bodyguard were in love, but they didn’t exactly keep it a secret either. The battlefield was still a dangerous place filled with dropped weapons and the ground proved to be hazardous as well. So, he took his king’s hand and guided the numb man over to the man lying perfectly still on the ground.</p><p>“Oh, my King!” The girl squeaked in surprise, and quickly wiped her face when he knelt down next to her. The soldier didn’t know what else to do, but was thankfully saved by the appearance of Hanamaki. He quietly waved the other soldiers away, they didn’t need to see their king like this. Oikawa was desperately trying to hold it together, but he wouldn’t last much longer. The medic saw the motion and took both of her king’s hands. She placed them on the side of Iwaizumi’s head and placed her own under his head. After another second, Oikawa realized was she was doing and scooted closer to her. Once he was settled, the medic gently lifted Iwaizumi’s head and slowly lowered his head to be in Oikawa’s lap. She stood and gave a bow to her king, she then quickly followed behind the other soldiers to hide the tears beginning to fall again. Hanamaki took a couple of steps to the side to give him a better vantage point, and then braced himself for Oikawa’s reaction. His body wanted to scream and tear apart the object nearest him, but his time to morn would come later, right now his king needed him, and this was the only way he could help him. He would keep him safe, and shielded from enemies and allies alike. He would let him break, and then gather the pieces later.</p><p>“Iwa-chan?” Oikawa’s voice came out barely above a whisper, but it was enough for Iwaizumi’s eyes to flutter open.</p><p>“Hey Tooru.” He said weakly.</p><p>“What’re you doing? We’re supposed to be up on the hill.” Oikawa scolded him.</p><p>“I’m comin’ just...just give me a minute, alright?” Iwaizumi gave him a small smile. He was lying. They both knew it, but neither could bring themselves to say it.</p><p>“That’s okay, we can stay here.” Oikawa repositioned his hands to hold his face. He couldn’t bring himself to look anywhere else.</p><p>“What about...” He trailed off. Speaking was getting more difficult by the minute.</p><p>“They’re fine! They’re fine. Mattsun’s working hard as always, and Hanamaki isn’t far. Though I suppose he never is, right? I saw Kunimi hiding in a corner to take a nap, and I’m pretty sure Kindaichi was trying to to sneak into the food reserves. I’ll just leave them to Yahaba though, nothing ever gets past him.” The words spilled out of Oikawa’s mouth faster than he could stop them. He moved one hand into Iwaizumi’s head and scratched at his scalp and combed through his hair. His other hand brushed his thumb across his cheeked without him noticing. Iwaizumi hummed in acknowledgment and enjoy the hands on his head and face.</p><p>“How’s your leg?” He asked as his eyes drooped.</p><p>“Annoying as ever.” Oikawa joked with tears falling down his face. He knew what he was doing. It was a classic move from his Iwa-chan, he was going to make sure everyone but himself was okay before.....before.....</p><p>“You need to learn to take better care of it.” Iwaizumi scolded him furrowing his brow in his general direction.</p><p>“That’s what you’re for. To remind me to do just that. You know how forgetful I can be.” They both remained silent at his words. There it was. What they couldn’t say, but both knew. How would they ever be able to say it? They had been together for so long. Oikawa, the talented and smart prince, and Iwaizumi the son of a family friend and the pillar that supported Oikawa. Even long before he was king, long before they started dating, Iwaizumi was there. He kept him standing, kept him healthy, kept him safe. Who was supposed to do that now? What was he supposed to do now? Without a pillar, even the strongest of resolves would fall. How was Oikawa supposed to walk around knowing his Iwa-chan wasn’t a few steps behind him? How could he sleep at night without the other there with him?</p><p>How was he supposed to be king if he didn’t have his pillar with him?</p><p>“Take my sword.” Iwaizumi said with all the firmness he could muster. He weakly indicated where his black sword laid dutifully by his side, most likely placed there by one of the other soldiers.</p><p>“I can’t.” Oikawa broke down.</p><p>“Tooru, promise me.” Iwaizumi used the last of his strength to reach up and grab the hand on his face. “Your spear broke, you need something, right? Promise me.” He repeated. Oikawa understood the meaning behind those words. His sword, “courage” was more than just a word engraved at the base, “Have courage.” Iwaizumi was telling him. He knew what was going on through his King’s head. His Tooru’s head.</p><p>Oikawa let his hand slip out of his grasp and moved the sword from lying at its masters side to lie at his side instead. The second the task was done, he returned his hand to Iwaizumi’s.</p><p>“Tell Matsukawa he’s Captain of the Guard now.”</p><p>“Hajime.” Oikawa breathed out.</p><p>“He’s ready for it. Good luck training the recruits though.” Iwaizumi gave a weak smile at the thought of Kindaichi and Kunimi driving Matsukawa up the castle walls with their antics.</p><p>“Tooru, I...” Iwaizumi stopped mid-sentence with a pained look on his face. He took a deep breath, and looked his lover in the eyes, and tried again. “I....I love you.” He forced the bloody cough to remain in his throat when it screamed at him to come out.</p><p>“Then why are you leaving me?” Oikawa bawled, his tears slipping from his eyes and onto Iwaizumi’s face. “Do you love me enough to die for me?”</p><p>“For my king? Gladly.”</p><p>The last words that ever came out of Iwaizumi Hajime’s mouth were words of love for his beloved king, Oikawa Tooru. It was exactly the way he wanted it. He didn’t care how he was remembered, only that this man knew the love he held for him. He loved him from the beginning, and all the way to the end.</p><p>“Hajime?” Oikawa tried, seeing his eyes glass over. The hand he was holding had lost its strength, and his body exhaled. “Hajime!”</p><p>Hanamaki squinted his eyes closed as Oikawa slid a hand up to close Iwaizumi’s unseeing eyes, and hunched his body over Iwaizumi’s. He dropped his head and let their foreheads touch, something in him snapped. There in the setting sun, he cried out loud enough for everyone to hear his voice. The voice of a broken man.</p><p>“HAJIME!!!”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>.....I’m so sorry. I hurt myself with this one. Please take a moment to let me know what you thought so I may improve. Or cry with me, I’m down for that. If you want more IwaOi (or a recovery fic from this) check out my profile. See you next time!<br/>~Kiera540</p></blockquote></div></div>
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